Should I swap out the Hitzer

[HitzerHillbilly]

I have a hitzer 983 insert in my house right now and have been seriously debating on switching out to a "true" wood burning insert. I know the 983 is a coal burning stove but I only burn wood here in northern Indiana. I live on 50 wooded acres with enough wood down now to last 10+ years. The Hitzer does a nice job of heating the 2500 sqft cap cod, just wondering if I would benefit from a different stove? Suggestions and ideas greatly appreciated!

 

[dafattkidd]

How many cords are you burning each year? The only advantage I see to switching to a true wood burning unit, is a cleaner more efficient burn- which will most likely save on wood consumption. How large is the firebox of the hitzer?

 

[HitzerHillbilly]

Not exactly sure yet, I have about 4 cord ready to go this year. I have to research the firebox, but it is a decent size. My concern is I only get about 6 hours max burn time over night. Usually still have hot coals for easy restarts, but any longer than that and it's a complete restart. Granted those burn times are with light wood, not something like oak

 

[bholler]

Those times are pretty good from a coal stove honestly. But i would bet that you will get better burn times from a wood stove. And coal stoves are typically harder to service when wood is used. I dont know your stove but most coal units i have worked on are not easy to clean anything other than fly ash from many of the passages. but most wood stoves make it much easier